Background, aim, and scope The interest in polyethylene
terephthalate (PET) recycling is quite recent, but it has been
growing steadily over the past few years. In this context,
the aim of this paper is to assess the eco-profile, the energy
savings and the environmental benefits of the use of
recycled raw materials to manufacture products for thermal
insulation of buildings in Italy (i.e., PET bottles postconsumer).
Materials and methods The life cycle analysis is developed
according to ISO 14040/44. In this paper, based on the
LCA, the main types of environmental impact of a thermal
insulation product have been outlined. This study is
specifically focused on polyester nonwovens, produced by
a company located in Italy. The cradle-to-gate life cycle
inventory is performed for the mass of product needed to
give a thermal resistance R of 1(m2 K/W). The calculation
of the impacts is done with SimaPro software. With an
environmental product declaration-oriented approach, a set
of impact categories is used for the classification and
characterisation of the life cycle impact assessment.
Results The results of the impact assessment for 1m2 K/W
of thermal insulation panels made with recycled PET are
then compared with similar products made with virgin PET.
The lower impact associated with the recycled PET for each
category is underlined: the percentage reduction is around
46% in the GWP category. In the production process, the
fiber-spinning phase results as the most relevant in terms of
energy consumption. In addition, the energy saved when
applying the thermal insulation in a building is estimated at
87 MJ/m2 per unit area per year in Rome. All the energy
used during the production of a thermal insulation panel is
recovered in about 2 years.
Conclusions The product shows significantly low environmental
impacts thanks to the use of non-virgin PET, thus
maintaining high mechanical and physical properties. If the
recovery of PET from separate waste collection in Italy
increases, this would reduce the share of waste PET
purchased from foreign countries and would therefore
reduce further the impact of transports for the production
of the thermal insulation panel under investigation.

Background, aim, and scope The interest in polyethylene
terephthalate (PET) recycling is quite recent, but it has been
growing steadily over the past few years. In this context,
the aim of this paper is to assess the eco-profile, the energy
savings and the environmental benefits of the use of
recycled raw materials to manufacture products for thermal
insulation of buildings in Italy (i.e., PET bottles postconsumer).
Materials and methods The life cycle analysis is developed
according to ISO 14040/44. In this paper, based on the
LCA, the main types of environmental impact of a thermal
insulation product have been outlined. This study is
specifically focused on polyester nonwovens, produced by
a company located in Italy. The cradle-to-gate life cycle
inventory is performed for the mass of product needed to
give a thermal resistance R of 1(m2 K/W). The calculation
of the impacts is done with SimaPro software. With an
environmental product declaration-oriented approach, a set
of impact categories is used for the classification and
characterisation of the life cycle impact assessment.
Results The results of the impact assessment for 1m2 K/W
of thermal insulation panels made with recycled PET are
then compared with similar products made with virgin PET.
The lower impact associated with the recycled PET for each
category is underlined: the percentage reduction is around
46% in the GWP category. In the production process, the
fiber-spinning phase results as the most relevant in terms of
energy consumption. In addition, the energy saved when
applying the thermal insulation in a building is estimated at
87 MJ/m2 per unit area per year in Rome. All the energy
used during the production of a thermal insulation panel is
recovered in about 2 years.
Conclusions The product shows significantly low environmental
impacts thanks to the use of non-virgin PET, thus
maintaining high mechanical and physical properties. If the
recovery of PET from separate waste collection in Italy
increases, this would reduce the share of waste PET
purchased from foreign countries and would therefore
reduce further the impact of transports for the production
of the thermal insulation panel under investigation.